THE lead singer of Pink Floyd auctioned off 126 of his guitars and raised a whopping 21 million dollars for charity (£16.5 million).

David Gilmour, who is currently having a house built on Hove seafront, is donating all the proceeds to Client Earth, a charity which uses the law to protect people and the planet.

The most notable guitar to go under the hammer at Christie’s in New York was the black Stratocaster Gilmour used to record Comfortably Numb, Shine On You Crazy Diamond and Money, according to Guitar World.

It was purchased by the owner of American football team Indianapolis Colts, Jim Isray, who spent almost four million dollars on it (£3.1 million).

He also bought picked a 1969 Martin D-35 acoustic guitar for just over a million dollars (£785,000) and the travel case used for “The Black Strat” for 175,000 dollars (£137,000).

Before the auction, Christie’s had projected a sale price for the 120 instruments to be about one million dollars.

The sale price for The Black Strat was predicted to be 100,000 to 150,000 dollars ( £78,000 to £117,000) but it went for a staggering 3.975 million dollars (£3.1 million).

Mr Gilmour said: “I am pleased to announce that all the proceeds from the Gilmour guitar sale at Christie’s in New York will be donated to the charity Client Earth.

“The global climate crisis is the greatest challenge that humanity will ever face, and we are within a few years of the effects of global warming being irreversible.

“As Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist said in a speech earlier this year ‘either we choose to go on as a civilisation, or we don’t’.

“The choice really is that simple, and I hope that the sale of these guitars will help Client Earth in their cause to use the law to bring about real change.

“We need a civilised world that goes on for all our grandchildren and beyond in which these guitars can be played and songs can be sung.”

James Thornton, chief executive of Client Earth, said: “This is a truly humbling and extraordinary gift which goes beyond our wildest expectations.

“It’s difficult to express just how deeply grateful we are to David for choosing Client Earth as the beneficiary of this historic auction.

“This gift is a phenomenal boost to our work and will allow us to play an even greater role in addressing the climate crisis and securing a healthy planet for future generations.”

Mr Gilmour and his wife Polly Samson, an acclaimed author, lyricist and journalist, are building a five-bedroom house on the grounds of a former 19th century bath house on Hove seafront.